Mom explains benefits of living as family of five in two-bedroom apartment

A New York mom has shared the eye-opening reasons why her kids all share a room in their two-bedroom apartment.  

Sarah Almodovar, 35, who lives in Washington Heights, Manhattan, with her husband Peterson Almodovar, 34, and their three young children, addressed a question she said they are asked repeatedly—what happens when the kids get older? 

“I’m gonna say something that some people might not want to hear,” Sarah said in a reel on Instagram (@lacasaalmodovar). “I don’t mean this with any judgment at all. Thinking—or even asking—‘Don’t your kids need separate bedrooms?’ is a question that comes from a place of privilege. Trust me, I know I grew up with privilege.” 

Sarah and Peterson grew up in different environments—one in the city, sharing bedrooms (in fact, in the very apartment they live in now); and the other in the country with a big backyard and individual rooms for each child.  

“I think a lot of people see small space living or shared sibling rooms as a last resort, when in reality, it’s a very intentional choice for us and we see a lot of value in living with less and in sharing spaces,” Sarah told Newsweek. “Our upbringings have taught us to value relational closeness, which we’re choosing to build through physical closeness.” 

That contrast has shaped how they question long-held assumptions about space, privacy and what children actually need to develop a sense of self. 

Rather than equating privacy with square footage, the mom of three said it is about boundaries and communication—skills her children are learning early by living closely together.  

The family’s apartment, roughly 720 square feet, has been carefully customized through years of budget-friendly DIY projects, including triple bunks built by hand. Each child has a bunk that functions as a personal domain, accessible to siblings only with permission. 

Beyond beds, ownership is reinforced through small but meaningful structures: individual drawers, shelves and cabinets, along with clear rules about what must be shared—like a communal family library—and what belongs to one child alone. The practice of asking, hearing “no,” and navigating disappointment is part of daily life. 

“These things sound small and simple, but these are the building blocks for mutual respect and healthy relationships in a shared space,” Sarah said.  

Privacy, too, is treated as a communicative act rather than a spatial one. When a child wants bathroom privacy, they simply say so, and others are expected to respect it. Over time, those verbal boundaries become second nature. 

Sarah’s reel has been viewed over 24,000 times. In the comments, many other parents shared the living arrangements in their households, which matched the Almodovars.  

Others commented that they had shared rooms with their siblings when they were younger, which served them well as preparation for college and university.  

Sarah and Peterson hope their kids carry forward a sense that “more is less”—that fulfillment doesn’t come from accumulating possessions or space, but from relationships, cooperation and calm.  

“Even before we had kids, we’ve thought of our home as an oasis—calm, open [and] relaxed.” Sarah said. “We only have about 720 square foot, but the space feels bigger than that because we haven’t crowded it with lots of things. It’s an enjoyable and peaceful place to be.”